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Samuel Adams White Ale
Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)
- From:
- Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)
- Massachusetts, United States
- Style:
- Witbier
Ranked #240 - ABV:
- 5.2%
- Score:
- 79
Ranked #26,599 - Avg:
- 3.47 | pDev: 14.99%
- Reviews:
- 969
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Mar 21, 2023
- Added:
- Jan 30, 2003
- Wants:
- 44
- Gots:
- 114
Was a Spring seasonal, now a Fall/Winter seasonal.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by melagnus:
Reviewed by melagnus from California
3.94/5 rDev +13.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.94/5 rDev +13.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A - Pale Gold (SRM 4) in hue. Dense finger-thick frothy white head that doesn't linger long before dissipating to a film across the top of a mildly milky haze of Pale Gold (SRM 4) liquid. Carbonation seems medium, which helps maintain the film across the top. Spider legs do form on the side of snifter post-swirl. According to the website, 10% Munich Malt, Malted Wheat and Two-row Pale Malt was used.
S - Fruity esters of orange peel and tart acidic spice. Coriander and pepper also darken the note. Mild sweetness also comes through, but very mild at that. Cinnamon also seems to be present, but is hard to pick out of the spice blend. Yeastiness also very noticeable upon final pour, which allows the suspended yeast to add another layer to an already respectable beer. The proprietary spice blend, according to the website, includes orange & lemon peel, dried plum, grains of paradise, coriander, anise, hibiscus, rose hips, tamarind, and vanilla. Even after knowing this, I fail to pick it all up, but the flowery essence does come through and as well the grains of paradise.
T - Orange spice slightly sweetens the tongue and finishes with a very mild bitterness that creates a very well-balanced beer. A very mild level of acidity comes through as well, though nothing like a Berliner Weißbier, or Gose. Final pour allows for a more full-bodied complexity to the beer that makes another sip even more tempting.
M - Grainy and medium in body. Carbonic creaminess coats the mouth well.
C - This is an extremely drinkable beer that begs for freshness. I personally tried a sample with a "Best Before Date" of May 2009, so in other words, I probably missed out on appearance, aroma and taste that would have normally been more impressive overall. With that said, the beer was still very well balanced and tempting to the palate. I definitely will look for it on-tap next year!
Prost!
Jun 02, 2009S - Fruity esters of orange peel and tart acidic spice. Coriander and pepper also darken the note. Mild sweetness also comes through, but very mild at that. Cinnamon also seems to be present, but is hard to pick out of the spice blend. Yeastiness also very noticeable upon final pour, which allows the suspended yeast to add another layer to an already respectable beer. The proprietary spice blend, according to the website, includes orange & lemon peel, dried plum, grains of paradise, coriander, anise, hibiscus, rose hips, tamarind, and vanilla. Even after knowing this, I fail to pick it all up, but the flowery essence does come through and as well the grains of paradise.
T - Orange spice slightly sweetens the tongue and finishes with a very mild bitterness that creates a very well-balanced beer. A very mild level of acidity comes through as well, though nothing like a Berliner Weißbier, or Gose. Final pour allows for a more full-bodied complexity to the beer that makes another sip even more tempting.
M - Grainy and medium in body. Carbonic creaminess coats the mouth well.
C - This is an extremely drinkable beer that begs for freshness. I personally tried a sample with a "Best Before Date" of May 2009, so in other words, I probably missed out on appearance, aroma and taste that would have normally been more impressive overall. With that said, the beer was still very well balanced and tempting to the palate. I definitely will look for it on-tap next year!
Prost!
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by ANIMOUL from Vermont
3.75/5 rDev +8.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev +8.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a 12 oz botte; no birth date. Pours hazy yellow with minimal to now foamy head. Faint smells of spice - cloves and perhaps anise? - with accompanying taste. Very thin tasting with no much there. Okay.
Dec 25, 2022Reviewed by MaltsOfGlory from Oregon
3.54/5 rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
3.54/5 rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
12oz bottle
Pours two fingers of dense white head into my Heineken glass. Retention is fantastic and after a few minutes nearly all of the head remains; after five minutes a sliver remains and lasts all the way down. Lacing is patchy but not too bad. Body is a cloudy orange with an absurd amount of nucleation coming up. Looks pretty nice.
Nose has a pretty massive bready presence - could be a little on the sweet side. Cinnamon and nutmeg are present and are an ok substitute for coriander, though I assume they are meant to cater more towards the masses. This smells ok, but it seems like ole Sam is straying further away from its “authentic” roots over the years, or I’m a lot pickier than I was when I was 20.
Flavor is pretty forward with that cinnamon and nutmeg, kinda hard to taste anything else. It’s not gross or overpowering, but it doesn’t taste all that much like beer. Does have a pretty weird/musty finish to it that comes out more as the beer progresses.
The spices do add a nice touch to the mouthfeel. Carbonation is high until the nucleation catches up to it. Body is very light. Definitely has a bit of what seems to be fake sweetness, but it really isn’t that big - not really the problem here. Not much in the way of bitterness. Pretty solid mouthfeel.
Drinkability is fine.
Overall, I mean idk. It’s interesting revisiting these beers after all these years and wondering if I’ve changed or if the beer has changed. The former is almost assured, the latter is a toss up. Kinda a subpar beer, but one that gets by on mediocrity.
Dec 17, 2022Pours two fingers of dense white head into my Heineken glass. Retention is fantastic and after a few minutes nearly all of the head remains; after five minutes a sliver remains and lasts all the way down. Lacing is patchy but not too bad. Body is a cloudy orange with an absurd amount of nucleation coming up. Looks pretty nice.
Nose has a pretty massive bready presence - could be a little on the sweet side. Cinnamon and nutmeg are present and are an ok substitute for coriander, though I assume they are meant to cater more towards the masses. This smells ok, but it seems like ole Sam is straying further away from its “authentic” roots over the years, or I’m a lot pickier than I was when I was 20.
Flavor is pretty forward with that cinnamon and nutmeg, kinda hard to taste anything else. It’s not gross or overpowering, but it doesn’t taste all that much like beer. Does have a pretty weird/musty finish to it that comes out more as the beer progresses.
The spices do add a nice touch to the mouthfeel. Carbonation is high until the nucleation catches up to it. Body is very light. Definitely has a bit of what seems to be fake sweetness, but it really isn’t that big - not really the problem here. Not much in the way of bitterness. Pretty solid mouthfeel.
Drinkability is fine.
Overall, I mean idk. It’s interesting revisiting these beers after all these years and wondering if I’ve changed or if the beer has changed. The former is almost assured, the latter is a toss up. Kinda a subpar beer, but one that gets by on mediocrity.
Reviewed by Dodo2step from Pennsylvania
3.42/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.42/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A- cloudy and hazy and one finger head with block lacing.
S- orange and clove
F- orange and clove. clove is dominant.
M- spicy pepper like with medium bodied feel
O- not bad. anice beer as a back up in stead of your BMC brews.
Dec 10, 2022S- orange and clove
F- orange and clove. clove is dominant.
M- spicy pepper like with medium bodied feel
O- not bad. anice beer as a back up in stead of your BMC brews.
Rated by DaBeetl
1.53/5 rDev -55.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5
1.53/5 rDev -55.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5
no flavor whatsoever; it went down like water. - I want my money back! - sticking with UFO White!
Jan 30, 2022Reviewed by jwp777 from Oklahoma
3.55/5 rDev +2.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5
3.55/5 rDev +2.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a 12 oz bottle:
Pours a beautiful hazy orange with a slightly dark gold tint. Head is white and bubbly. No lacing to speak of but good retention at least around the circumference of the glass. Lots of carbonation bubbles visible.
I get lots of orange peel in the aroma with clove and some other wintery spices in there. Not getting much in the way of hops.
Taste is orange and tangerine upfront, almost sweet for a split second, then you get the hops and spices, especially clove. Clove sticks around a bit too long for me - I would have liked a bit more citrus in the finish to lift it up a bit. Probably won’t drink this by itself again but I feel like it’d be enjoyable with a hearty meal.
Feel is crisp and the cloves and spices make the beer feel warm even though I am drinking it chilled at around 42 degrees F. Carbonation bounces on the tongue.
Overall - pretty difficult to rate this one. Loved the look and the feel, but a bit underwhelmed by it otherwise. I’d definitely drink this again if offered or if it was sure to be the best beer on a restaurant menu, but I don’t think I’ll be buying it in bottles again.
Nov 27, 2020Pours a beautiful hazy orange with a slightly dark gold tint. Head is white and bubbly. No lacing to speak of but good retention at least around the circumference of the glass. Lots of carbonation bubbles visible.
I get lots of orange peel in the aroma with clove and some other wintery spices in there. Not getting much in the way of hops.
Taste is orange and tangerine upfront, almost sweet for a split second, then you get the hops and spices, especially clove. Clove sticks around a bit too long for me - I would have liked a bit more citrus in the finish to lift it up a bit. Probably won’t drink this by itself again but I feel like it’d be enjoyable with a hearty meal.
Feel is crisp and the cloves and spices make the beer feel warm even though I am drinking it chilled at around 42 degrees F. Carbonation bounces on the tongue.
Overall - pretty difficult to rate this one. Loved the look and the feel, but a bit underwhelmed by it otherwise. I’d definitely drink this again if offered or if it was sure to be the best beer on a restaurant menu, but I don’t think I’ll be buying it in bottles again.
Samuel Adams White Ale from Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams)
Beer rating:
79 out of
100 with
1530 ratings
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